3 questions with Ravens right guard Marshal Yanda

Pictures of the Ravens game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17.

Edward Lee, The Baltimore Sun

The Ravens did an admirable job keeping quarterback Joe Flacco upright in last week's 31-29 win against the Dallas Cowboys, surrendering just one sack to outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware. But the guys in front of Flacco may face their toughest test this Sunday when they face the Houston Texans and defensive end J.J. Watt. The second-year pro leads the NFL in sacks with 9½ and has added 15 quarterback hits and 16 tackles for losses. Starting right guard Marshal Yanda discussed Watt's ability, which includes a knack for knocking down passes at the line of scrimmage.

What are your thoughts on Watt?

"He's just a really long guy, a long-armed guy that can bull-rush and has got good quickness and agility. He's a great player. He's on a hot streak right now. He's leading the NFL in sacks. He's doing a really good job."

In addition to keeping him away from Flacco, how do you negate Watt's penchant for sticking his hands up in the air and deflecting passes?

"It's one of those things to where you can try to do it as much as you can, but sometimes he's just going to make the play because we can't see when Joe is going to throw the ball. He can see and we can't. So sometimes that's going to happen. You just hope to block him as best as you can and hope that doesn't happen. There's really nothing else you can do."

On the list of priorities, keeping Watt out of the pocket has to be more important than trying to keep his arms down, right?

"Exactly. You have to stop the sack first, and if he bats the ball down, he bats the ball down. You just try to prevent it."